The Location or the Finance

Ok…so I have never looked at real estate (outside of renting an apartment) so I have what possibly could be a dumb question.

We’re looking at real estate currently for a coworking space in NYC…Do you find the space/location first or do you find/raise the money first? Kind of a chicken or the egg question.

My thoughts when I originally came up with this idea was to look at spaces that fit our need first to get an idea of how much $$$ we’re needing to raise and to get an idea of what the sq footage looked like, THEN, raise the funding (crowdfunding, private raise, sponsors, etc.).

Thoughts?

Hidden option C: you find a community in need, or start building your own. :slight_smile:

Without people, you’re opening an empty room. Not only does that mean eating costs for a while, it means that people are less likely to want to join because it’s an empty room and if they wanted an empty room they could stay home or work from any other isolating location.

Not to mention that if you’re considering crowdfunding, you’ve gotta have a crowd to start with :slight_smile:

NYC is particularly difficult with high rents and an already huge and growing set of Coworking options. Who do you think isn’t being served that needs YOUR Coworking space, wherever it ends up being?

-Alex

P.s. This is probably my most popular blog post, and it talks more about this quandary. You’re FAR from alone in asking! http://dangerouslyawesome.com/2011/09/how-to-fund-your-coworking-space/

···

On Wednesday, September 30, 2015, Daron Jenkins [email protected] wrote:

Ok…so I have never looked at real estate (outside of renting an apartment) so I have what possibly could be a dumb question.

We’re looking at real estate currently for a coworking space in NYC…Do you find the space/location first or do you find/raise the money first? Kind of a chicken or the egg question.

My thoughts when I originally came up with this idea was to look at spaces that fit our need first to get an idea of how much $$$ we’re needing to raise and to get an idea of what the sq footage looked like, THEN, raise the funding (crowdfunding, private raise, sponsors, etc.).

Thoughts?

Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com


You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups “Coworking” group.

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The #1 mistake in community building is doing it by yourself.

Join the list: http://coworkingweekly.com

Listen to the podcast: http://dangerouslyawesome.com/podcast

It’s both space and model, an in iterative fashion.

···

But it’s also market research, particularly understanding and likely recruiting a community first to gauge the demand side of your model.

Jerome

www.BLANKSPACES.com

On Sep 30, 2015, at 7:08 AM, Daron Jenkins [email protected] wrote:

Ok…so I have never looked at real estate (outside of renting an apartment) so I have what possibly could be a dumb question.

We’re looking at real estate currently for a coworking space in NYC…Do you find the space/location first or do you find/raise the money first? Kind of a chicken or the egg question.

My thoughts when I originally came up with this idea was to look at spaces that fit our need first to get an idea of how much $$$ we’re needing to raise and to get an idea of what the sq footage looked like, THEN, raise the funding (crowdfunding, private raise, sponsors, etc.).

Thoughts?

Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com


You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups “Coworking” group.

To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected].

For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

Well…that’s exactly what I thought. I have a massive community having been powering the indie film community in NYC for more than 12 years.

So I assume you’re talking about getting a number of pre founding members signed up…we are working on assembling an content incubator pre launch as a way to engage with the community pre launch and also a way to gather service providers that early adopters can take advantage of in advance of the physical space.

Sound dumb?

···

On Sep 30, 2015 10:13 AM, “Alex Hillman” [email protected] wrote:

Hidden option C: you find a community in need, or start building your own. :slight_smile:

Without people, you’re opening an empty room. Not only does that mean eating costs for a while, it means that people are less likely to want to join because it’s an empty room and if they wanted an empty room they could stay home or work from any other isolating location.

Not to mention that if you’re considering crowdfunding, you’ve gotta have a crowd to start with :slight_smile:

NYC is particularly difficult with high rents and an already huge and growing set of Coworking options. Who do you think isn’t being served that needs YOUR Coworking space, wherever it ends up being?

-Alex

P.s. This is probably my most popular blog post, and it talks more about this quandary. You’re FAR from alone in asking! http://dangerouslyawesome.com/2011/09/how-to-fund-your-coworking-space/

On Wednesday, September 30, 2015, Daron Jenkins [email protected] wrote:

Ok…so I have never looked at real estate (outside of renting an apartment) so I have what possibly could be a dumb question.

We’re looking at real estate currently for a coworking space in NYC…Do you find the space/location first or do you find/raise the money first? Kind of a chicken or the egg question.

My thoughts when I originally came up with this idea was to look at spaces that fit our need first to get an idea of how much $$$ we’re needing to raise and to get an idea of what the sq footage looked like, THEN, raise the funding (crowdfunding, private raise, sponsors, etc.).

Thoughts?

Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com


You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups “Coworking” group.

To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected].

For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.


The #1 mistake in community building is doing it by yourself.

Join the list: http://coworkingweekly.com

Listen to the podcast: http://dangerouslyawesome.com/podcast

Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com


You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the Google Groups “Coworking” group.

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Doesn’t sound dumb at all!

It’s an excellent idea to look for ways to get people together BEFORE you even start seeking space. People will say “oh a coworking space that sounds great” but a very small % of them will actually show up. And if you can’t get them to show up BEFORE you have a dedicated space…having the overhead of a space isn’t gonna magically make that easier.

You’re totally on the right track here Daron. This is great.

Start getting that community involved with seeking space too. Go out and pound pavement together (or in small teams) to find stuff that isn’t in MLS listings. It can be fun and the people who pitch in will feel WAY more connected to the space once you do have it.

From there, you can figure out how much you need to get this off the ground, and look at various ways to pull that money together. Turn to your community for help as early and often as possible. If you’ve built a community up until this point and you’re approaching things as you’re describing them here, you’re off to a GREAT start.

Oh man I’m excited to see what you do here. Please keep this list posted!

-Alex

···

On Wednesday, September 30, 2015, Daron Jenkins [email protected] wrote:

Well…that’s exactly what I thought. I have a massive community having been powering the indie film community in NYC for more than 12 years.

So I assume you’re talking about getting a number of pre founding members signed up…we are working on assembling an content incubator pre launch as a way to engage with the community pre launch and also a way to gather service providers that early adopters can take advantage of in advance of the physical space.

Sound dumb?

On Sep 30, 2015 10:13 AM, “Alex Hillman” [email protected] wrote:

Hidden option C: you find a community in need, or start building your own. :slight_smile:

Without people, you’re opening an empty room. Not only does that mean eating costs for a while, it means that people are less likely to want to join because it’s an empty room and if they wanted an empty room they could stay home or work from any other isolating location.

Not to mention that if you’re considering crowdfunding, you’ve gotta have a crowd to start with :slight_smile:

NYC is particularly difficult with high rents and an already huge and growing set of Coworking options. Who do you think isn’t being served that needs YOUR Coworking space, wherever it ends up being?

-Alex

P.s. This is probably my most popular blog post, and it talks more about this quandary. You’re FAR from alone in asking! http://dangerouslyawesome.com/2011/09/how-to-fund-your-coworking-space/

On Wednesday, September 30, 2015, Daron Jenkins [email protected] wrote:

Ok…so I have never looked at real estate (outside of renting an apartment) so I have what possibly could be a dumb question.

We’re looking at real estate currently for a coworking space in NYC…Do you find the space/location first or do you find/raise the money first? Kind of a chicken or the egg question.

My thoughts when I originally came up with this idea was to look at spaces that fit our need first to get an idea of how much $$$ we’re needing to raise and to get an idea of what the sq footage looked like, THEN, raise the funding (crowdfunding, private raise, sponsors, etc.).

Thoughts?

Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com


You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups “Coworking” group.

To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected].

For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.


The #1 mistake in community building is doing it by yourself.

Join the list: http://coworkingweekly.com

Listen to the podcast: http://dangerouslyawesome.com/podcast

Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com


You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the Google Groups “Coworking” group.

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Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com


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The #1 mistake in community building is doing it by yourself.

Join the list: http://coworkingweekly.com

Listen to the podcast: http://dangerouslyawesome.com/podcast

Community trumps capital. Every time.

Don’t just get a pre-launch support list. Talk to those people in your community. Tell them about the idea of working together in a dedicated space. Get them working together somewhere else in the meantime at least once a week to see if it fits with them. Then, sometime soon, you all decide that now is the time, and you put your money in.

That’s when you know you have both a community and viability going forward.

···

Trevor Twining

Cowork Niagara

http://coworkniagara.com

Home of Niagara’s independent workforce

twitter: @coworkniagara, @trevortwining

cel: 416-201-2254

On Sep 30, 2015, at 10:20 AM, Daron Jenkins [email protected] wrote:

Well…that’s exactly what I thought. I have a massive community having been powering the indie film community in NYC for more than 12 years.

So I assume you’re talking about getting a number of pre founding members signed up…we are working on assembling an content incubator pre launch as a way to engage with the community pre launch and also a way to gather service providers that early adopters can take advantage of in advance of the physical space.

Sound dumb?

On Sep 30, 2015 10:13 AM, “Alex Hillman” [email protected] wrote:

Hidden option C: you find a community in need, or start building your own. :slight_smile:

Without people, you’re opening an empty room. Not only does that mean eating costs for a while, it means that people are less likely to want to join because it’s an empty room and if they wanted an empty room they could stay home or work from any other isolating location.

Not to mention that if you’re considering crowdfunding, you’ve gotta have a crowd to start with :slight_smile:

NYC is particularly difficult with high rents and an already huge and growing set of Coworking options. Who do you think isn’t being served that needs YOUR Coworking space, wherever it ends up being?

-Alex

P.s. This is probably my most popular blog post, and it talks more about this quandary. You’re FAR from alone in asking! http://dangerouslyawesome.com/2011/09/how-to-fund-your-coworking-space/

On Wednesday, September 30, 2015, Daron Jenkins [email protected] wrote:

Ok…so I have never looked at real estate (outside of renting an apartment) so I have what possibly could be a dumb question.

We’re looking at real estate currently for a coworking space in NYC…Do you find the space/location first or do you find/raise the money first? Kind of a chicken or the egg question.

My thoughts when I originally came up with this idea was to look at spaces that fit our need first to get an idea of how much $$$ we’re needing to raise and to get an idea of what the sq footage looked like, THEN, raise the funding (crowdfunding, private raise, sponsors, etc.).

Thoughts?


Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com

You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups “Coworking” group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected].
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.


The #1 mistake in community building is doing it by yourself.

Join the list: http://coworkingweekly.com

Listen to the podcast: http://dangerouslyawesome.com/podcast


Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com

You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the Google Groups “Coworking” group.
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Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com

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Thanks Jerome! I have done a ton of research on the industry, the coworking space, real estate, and everything else! :slight_smile:

I went to see some real estate the other day and I guess it got my brain thinking about the GRAVITY of what we’re undertaking and I want to be sure I do it all right because I think if done right it will be truly transformative. If done wrong…lol…ugly.

I appreciate your input!! I love this group! everyone is so very awesome!

···

On Wednesday, September 30, 2015 at 10:15:31 AM UTC-4, Jerome wrote:

It’s both space and model, an in iterative fashion.

But it’s also market research, particularly understanding and likely recruiting a community first to gauge the demand side of your model.

Jerome

www.BLANKSPACES.com

On Sep 30, 2015, at 7:08 AM, Daron Jenkins [email protected] wrote:

Ok…so I have never looked at real estate (outside of renting an apartment) so I have what possibly could be a dumb question.

We’re looking at real estate currently for a coworking space in NYC…Do you find the space/location first or do you find/raise the money first? Kind of a chicken or the egg question.

My thoughts when I originally came up with this idea was to look at spaces that fit our need first to get an idea of how much $$$ we’re needing to raise and to get an idea of what the sq footage looked like, THEN, raise the funding (crowdfunding, private raise, sponsors, etc.).

Thoughts?

Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com


You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups “Coworking” group.

To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected].

For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

Thanks Alex. I think I reached out to you about this last year since you’ve written the book (literally!) on this and I really value what you have to say! Big fan man…thanks!!

I’ll keep you updated as we get more done. I am challenging myself and partner to do more (though we’re already so ingrained in the landscape) community connection, but now we’re trying to really build connections with other connectors and other influencers who can help spread the word and build the following. We were at SXSW and got a great mention by Mashable as one of the startups to watch…but plenty of startups get that moniker and fail so we aren’t resting on pats on the back cause we haven’t done anything yet.

:slight_smile:

···

On Wednesday, September 30, 2015 at 10:28:59 AM UTC-4, Alex Hillman wrote:

Doesn’t sound dumb at all!

It’s an excellent idea to look for ways to get people together BEFORE you even start seeking space. People will say “oh a coworking space that sounds great” but a very small % of them will actually show up. And if you can’t get them to show up BEFORE you have a dedicated space…having the overhead of a space isn’t gonna magically make that easier.

You’re totally on the right track here Daron. This is great.

Start getting that community involved with seeking space too. Go out and pound pavement together (or in small teams) to find stuff that isn’t in MLS listings. It can be fun and the people who pitch in will feel WAY more connected to the space once you do have it.

From there, you can figure out how much you need to get this off the ground, and look at various ways to pull that money together. Turn to your community for help as early and often as possible. If you’ve built a community up until this point and you’re approaching things as you’re describing them here, you’re off to a GREAT start.

Oh man I’m excited to see what you do here. Please keep this list posted!

-Alex

On Wednesday, September 30, 2015, Daron Jenkins [email protected] wrote:

Well…that’s exactly what I thought. I have a massive community having been powering the indie film community in NYC for more than 12 years.

So I assume you’re talking about getting a number of pre founding members signed up…we are working on assembling an content incubator pre launch as a way to engage with the community pre launch and also a way to gather service providers that early adopters can take advantage of in advance of the physical space.

Sound dumb?

On Sep 30, 2015 10:13 AM, “Alex Hillman” [email protected] wrote:

Hidden option C: you find a community in need, or start building your own. :slight_smile:

Without people, you’re opening an empty room. Not only does that mean eating costs for a while, it means that people are less likely to want to join because it’s an empty room and if they wanted an empty room they could stay home or work from any other isolating location.

Not to mention that if you’re considering crowdfunding, you’ve gotta have a crowd to start with :slight_smile:

NYC is particularly difficult with high rents and an already huge and growing set of Coworking options. Who do you think isn’t being served that needs YOUR Coworking space, wherever it ends up being?

-Alex

P.s. This is probably my most popular blog post, and it talks more about this quandary. You’re FAR from alone in asking! http://dangerouslyawesome.com/2011/09/how-to-fund-your-coworking-space/

On Wednesday, September 30, 2015, Daron Jenkins [email protected] wrote:

Ok…so I have never looked at real estate (outside of renting an apartment) so I have what possibly could be a dumb question.

We’re looking at real estate currently for a coworking space in NYC…Do you find the space/location first or do you find/raise the money first? Kind of a chicken or the egg question.

My thoughts when I originally came up with this idea was to look at spaces that fit our need first to get an idea of how much $$$ we’re needing to raise and to get an idea of what the sq footage looked like, THEN, raise the funding (crowdfunding, private raise, sponsors, etc.).

Thoughts?

Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com


You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups “Coworking” group.

To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected].

For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.


The #1 mistake in community building is doing it by yourself.

Join the list: http://coworkingweekly.com

Listen to the podcast: http://dangerouslyawesome.com/podcast

Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com


You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the Google Groups “Coworking” group.

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Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com


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The #1 mistake in community building is doing it by yourself.

Join the list: http://coworkingweekly.com

Listen to the podcast: http://dangerouslyawesome.com/podcast

Yep…we actually have had a few large companies come and offer us the ability to use their offices as space for members to gather and work (though their interest is based on them having first crack at any content that comes out of the group so its a bit complicated IP wise…so we’ve put that on hold).

We are looking at some public spaces we can do regular meets at for anyone who wants to stay connected!

It’s all very exciting because of how tv/film has grown :slight_smile:

Thanks so much man!! Have an awesome week!!

···

On Wednesday, September 30, 2015 at 10:30:26 AM UTC-4, Trevor Twining wrote:

Community trumps capital. Every time.

Don’t just get a pre-launch support list. Talk to those people in your community. Tell them about the idea of working together in a dedicated space. Get them working together somewhere else in the meantime at least once a week to see if it fits with them. Then, sometime soon, you all decide that now is the time, and you put your money in.

That’s when you know you have both a community and viability going forward.


Trevor Twining

Cowork Niagara

http://coworkniagara.com

Home of Niagara’s independent workforce

twitter: @coworkniagara, @trevortwining

cel: 416-201-2254

On Sep 30, 2015, at 10:20 AM, Daron Jenkins [email protected] wrote:

Well…that’s exactly what I thought. I have a massive community having been powering the indie film community in NYC for more than 12 years.

So I assume you’re talking about getting a number of pre founding members signed up…we are working on assembling an content incubator pre launch as a way to engage with the community pre launch and also a way to gather service providers that early adopters can take advantage of in advance of the physical space.

Sound dumb?

On Sep 30, 2015 10:13 AM, “Alex Hillman” [email protected] wrote:

Hidden option C: you find a community in need, or start building your own. :slight_smile:

Without people, you’re opening an empty room. Not only does that mean eating costs for a while, it means that people are less likely to want to join because it’s an empty room and if they wanted an empty room they could stay home or work from any other isolating location.

Not to mention that if you’re considering crowdfunding, you’ve gotta have a crowd to start with :slight_smile:

NYC is particularly difficult with high rents and an already huge and growing set of Coworking options. Who do you think isn’t being served that needs YOUR Coworking space, wherever it ends up being?

-Alex

P.s. This is probably my most popular blog post, and it talks more about this quandary. You’re FAR from alone in asking! http://dangerouslyawesome.com/2011/09/how-to-fund-your-coworking-space/

On Wednesday, September 30, 2015, Daron Jenkins [email protected] wrote:

Ok…so I have never looked at real estate (outside of renting an apartment) so I have what possibly could be a dumb question.

We’re looking at real estate currently for a coworking space in NYC…Do you find the space/location first or do you find/raise the money first? Kind of a chicken or the egg question.

My thoughts when I originally came up with this idea was to look at spaces that fit our need first to get an idea of how much $$$ we’re needing to raise and to get an idea of what the sq footage looked like, THEN, raise the funding (crowdfunding, private raise, sponsors, etc.).

Thoughts?


Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com

You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups “Coworking” group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected].
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The #1 mistake in community building is doing it by yourself.

Join the list: http://coworkingweekly.com

Listen to the podcast: http://dangerouslyawesome.com/podcast


Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com

You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the Google Groups “Coworking” group.
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Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com

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Cool dude. Happy to help, this thread has made my morning :slight_smile:

I love that you’ve done your homework. Surprisingly rare.

Just stay the course and don’t get distracted by the stupid shit like fancy furniture and funding - down that path, you start serving investors and onlookers instead of your community and what they need to thrive.

You’re in the people business, not the space/desk business. Make sure your business model, as it evolves, is decoupled from square footage and you’re golden. :slight_smile:

-Alex

···

On Wed, Sep 30, 2015 at 10:42 AM, Daron Jenkins [email protected] wrote:

Thanks Alex. I think I reached out to you about this last year since you’ve written the book (literally!) on this and I really value what you have to say! Big fan man…thanks!!

I’ll keep you updated as we get more done. I am challenging myself and partner to do more (though we’re already so ingrained in the landscape) community connection, but now we’re trying to really build connections with other connectors and other influencers who can help spread the word and build the following. We were at SXSW and got a great mention by Mashable as one of the startups to watch…but plenty of startups get that moniker and fail so we aren’t resting on pats on the back cause we haven’t done anything yet.

:slight_smile:

On Wednesday, September 30, 2015 at 10:28:59 AM UTC-4, Alex Hillman wrote:

Doesn’t sound dumb at all!

It’s an excellent idea to look for ways to get people together BEFORE you even start seeking space. People will say “oh a coworking space that sounds great” but a very small % of them will actually show up. And if you can’t get them to show up BEFORE you have a dedicated space…having the overhead of a space isn’t gonna magically make that easier.

You’re totally on the right track here Daron. This is great.

Start getting that community involved with seeking space too. Go out and pound pavement together (or in small teams) to find stuff that isn’t in MLS listings. It can be fun and the people who pitch in will feel WAY more connected to the space once you do have it.

From there, you can figure out how much you need to get this off the ground, and look at various ways to pull that money together. Turn to your community for help as early and often as possible. If you’ve built a community up until this point and you’re approaching things as you’re describing them here, you’re off to a GREAT start.

Oh man I’m excited to see what you do here. Please keep this list posted!

-Alex

On Wednesday, September 30, 2015, Daron Jenkins [email protected] wrote:

Well…that’s exactly what I thought. I have a massive community having been powering the indie film community in NYC for more than 12 years.

So I assume you’re talking about getting a number of pre founding members signed up…we are working on assembling an content incubator pre launch as a way to engage with the community pre launch and also a way to gather service providers that early adopters can take advantage of in advance of the physical space.

Sound dumb?

On Sep 30, 2015 10:13 AM, “Alex Hillman” [email protected] wrote:

Hidden option C: you find a community in need, or start building your own. :slight_smile:

Without people, you’re opening an empty room. Not only does that mean eating costs for a while, it means that people are less likely to want to join because it’s an empty room and if they wanted an empty room they could stay home or work from any other isolating location.

Not to mention that if you’re considering crowdfunding, you’ve gotta have a crowd to start with :slight_smile:

NYC is particularly difficult with high rents and an already huge and growing set of Coworking options. Who do you think isn’t being served that needs YOUR Coworking space, wherever it ends up being?

-Alex

P.s. This is probably my most popular blog post, and it talks more about this quandary. You’re FAR from alone in asking! http://dangerouslyawesome.com/2011/09/how-to-fund-your-coworking-space/

On Wednesday, September 30, 2015, Daron Jenkins [email protected] wrote:

Ok…so I have never looked at real estate (outside of renting an apartment) so I have what possibly could be a dumb question.

We’re looking at real estate currently for a coworking space in NYC…Do you find the space/location first or do you find/raise the money first? Kind of a chicken or the egg question.

My thoughts when I originally came up with this idea was to look at spaces that fit our need first to get an idea of how much $$$ we’re needing to raise and to get an idea of what the sq footage looked like, THEN, raise the funding (crowdfunding, private raise, sponsors, etc.).

Thoughts?

Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com


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You rock! Thanks Alex! Have a great rest of the day! Let me know if I can ever be of service

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Daron

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On Wed, Sep 30, 2015 at 10:42 AM, Daron Jenkins [email protected] wrote:

Thanks Alex. I think I reached out to you about this last year since you’ve written the book (literally!) on this and I really value what you have to say! Big fan man…thanks!!

I’ll keep you updated as we get more done. I am challenging myself and partner to do more (though we’re already so ingrained in the landscape) community connection, but now we’re trying to really build connections with other connectors and other influencers who can help spread the word and build the following. We were at SXSW and got a great mention by Mashable as one of the startups to watch…but plenty of startups get that moniker and fail so we aren’t resting on pats on the back cause we haven’t done anything yet.

:slight_smile:

On Wednesday, September 30, 2015 at 10:28:59 AM UTC-4, Alex Hillman wrote:

Doesn’t sound dumb at all!

It’s an excellent idea to look for ways to get people together BEFORE you even start seeking space. People will say “oh a coworking space that sounds great” but a very small % of them will actually show up. And if you can’t get them to show up BEFORE you have a dedicated space…having the overhead of a space isn’t gonna magically make that easier.

You’re totally on the right track here Daron. This is great.

Start getting that community involved with seeking space too. Go out and pound pavement together (or in small teams) to find stuff that isn’t in MLS listings. It can be fun and the people who pitch in will feel WAY more connected to the space once you do have it.

From there, you can figure out how much you need to get this off the ground, and look at various ways to pull that money together. Turn to your community for help as early and often as possible. If you’ve built a community up until this point and you’re approaching things as you’re describing them here, you’re off to a GREAT start.

Oh man I’m excited to see what you do here. Please keep this list posted!

-Alex

On Wednesday, September 30, 2015, Daron Jenkins [email protected] wrote:

Well…that’s exactly what I thought. I have a massive community having been powering the indie film community in NYC for more than 12 years.

So I assume you’re talking about getting a number of pre founding members signed up…we are working on assembling an content incubator pre launch as a way to engage with the community pre launch and also a way to gather service providers that early adopters can take advantage of in advance of the physical space.

Sound dumb?

On Sep 30, 2015 10:13 AM, “Alex Hillman” [email protected] wrote:

Hidden option C: you find a community in need, or start building your own. :slight_smile:

Without people, you’re opening an empty room. Not only does that mean eating costs for a while, it means that people are less likely to want to join because it’s an empty room and if they wanted an empty room they could stay home or work from any other isolating location.

Not to mention that if you’re considering crowdfunding, you’ve gotta have a crowd to start with :slight_smile:

NYC is particularly difficult with high rents and an already huge and growing set of Coworking options. Who do you think isn’t being served that needs YOUR Coworking space, wherever it ends up being?

-Alex

P.s. This is probably my most popular blog post, and it talks more about this quandary. You’re FAR from alone in asking! http://dangerouslyawesome.com/2011/09/how-to-fund-your-coworking-space/

On Wednesday, September 30, 2015, Daron Jenkins [email protected] wrote:

Ok…so I have never looked at real estate (outside of renting an apartment) so I have what possibly could be a dumb question.

We’re looking at real estate currently for a coworking space in NYC…Do you find the space/location first or do you find/raise the money first? Kind of a chicken or the egg question.

My thoughts when I originally came up with this idea was to look at spaces that fit our need first to get an idea of how much $$$ we’re needing to raise and to get an idea of what the sq footage looked like, THEN, raise the funding (crowdfunding, private raise, sponsors, etc.).

Thoughts?

Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com


You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups “Coworking” group.

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The #1 mistake in community building is doing it by yourself.

Join the list: http://coworkingweekly.com

Listen to the podcast: http://dangerouslyawesome.com/podcast

Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com


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Listen to the podcast: http://dangerouslyawesome.com/podcast